Membership

Challenges

The following problems regarding membership of non-governmental organisations exist:

prohibitions on children, convicted persons, legal persons, non-nationals and public officials belonging to non-governmental organisations that are absolute or unsupported by relevant and sufficient reasons;

prohibitions on belonging to non-governmental organisation outside one's country of residence and/or nationality that are absolute or unsupported by relevant and sufficient reasons. Compulsion to admit members to a non-governmental organisation where this is not a measure to prevent unjustified discrimination;

compulsion to belong to a non-governmental organisation in the absence of relevant and sufficient reasons;

obligations for members of non-governmental organisations to disclose their membership and for such organisations to identify their members in the absence of relevant and sufficient reasons

official support, whether through law or other measures (including inaction), for efforts to discourage or prevent persons becoming members of non-governmental organisations;

the subjection of members of non-governmental organisations to discriminatory treatment, harassment and ill-treatment, as well as the imposition on them of penalties, on account of that membership;

the inability of members of non-governmental organisations to vindicate their rights arising from their membership through the courts, including to ensure that they are not improperly expelled from them.